From the Archives, February 24, 1976 | Photo-setting for books: Plant in Bangalore

Bangalore, Feb. 25: The Macmillan group of companies, the internationally known publishers, have selected Bangalore for locating their modern type-setting plant because of its climate, which is suited to men and woman as also the computers in the plant, as Mr. Harold Macmillan put it.

The former British Prime Minister and President of the Macmillan group of companies inaugurated the plant here this afternoon.

The Rs. 40-lakh-plant has been set up for photo-setting pages of texts composed for printing. The film negatives will be composed with the aid of computerised monokeyboards and film-setters. However the printing of the books would be done in the United Kingdom and Australia with the use of the films exported from Bangalore. The investment in the project will be doubled next year.

After the inauguration of the most modern type-setting project, Mr. Macmillan said his company had begun a “new phase of association between the U.K. and India which would open up a new field of exports for the latter.” He envisaged that the value of exports of films from the plant would go up to Rs. one crore a year by 1978. Production would begin in a month or two.

He recalled that the company opened its branch in India over 100 years ago. To-day its operations in India were being carried on by an Indian company called the Macmillan Company of India Limited.